While I respected its heritage, Breitling wasn’t a watch brand that resonated with me for years; I didn’t really get the lust for big pilots’ watches with a mass of complications, and brand ambassadors like John Travolta – a bone fide pilot in all fairness to him – felt a bit old-hat, even before the watch collecting bug bit me.
But under CEO Georges Kern, Breitling has gone through a bit of a glow up, rebooting old models from a historic back catalogue and pulling the brand out from being known for just aviation watches, while also still tapping into that heritage and acknowledging the innovations the likes of the Navitimer brought to the watch world.
First released in 2021 alongside other models in the Premier collection, this dual-subdial chronograph has a distinct dressy and elegant aesthetic. There’s a choice of white, pistachio, or brass-like yellow dials in a stainless steel case, or a pricier 18k red gold option with a silver dial, all with their own brown or black alligator leather straps, complete with a punchy Breitling yellow lining on the inside.
Breitling Premier B09 Chronograph 40: The Specs
As you might have guessed, the 40 in the Premier B09 Chronograph 40’s full name is related to its 40mm case diameter, which makes it the more compact of the Premier line targeted at men. Made out of stainless steel, this 13.08mm-thick watch glimmers in sunlight thanks to a polished bezel and lugs – things are toned down a little with the case’s brushed sides that feature a refreshingly original trio of grooved stripes.
With a lug width of 20mm and a lug-to-lug length of 47.65mm, I found the Premier B09 wears mostly true to those specs. It certainly has some wrist presence, but is still a far cry from a big, chunky pilots’ watch.
At the heart of the Premier B09 sits Breitling's manufacture caliber B09, a manual-winding version of its B01 movement. As such, the B09 offers a column wheel chronograph movement with a vertical clutch, which in practical terms means a snappy response to the chronograph hand from the moment the pushers are pressed with a satisfying click, and should also mean longer service intervals.
The movement ticks away at 28,800 vibrations per hour, which is equal to 4Hz, giving the seconds hands a nice smooth sweep. And it’ll keep doing that for some 70 hours before needing a wind, which is provided by a signed crown with rather sharp teeth; easy to grip but perhaps not the most comfortable to wind.
The crown isn’t a screw-down one, but the B09 still offers 10 bars (aka 100 meters) of water resistance, meaning you can swim with the watch, which isn't something you can confidently do with the OMEGA Speedmaster – at least in my cautious opinion. Equally, I don’t recommend swimming in such a dressy chronograph, as I doubt it would suit the average swimwear aesthetic; but knowing the B09 can survive a dunk is appreciated.
This robustness continues into the performance of the movement, which is COSC-certified. Breitling doesn’t make a song and dance about this, with the ‘chronometer’ label consigned to the movement and caseback rather than the watch’s dial, but it’ll work to an accuracy of -4 to 6+ seconds a day; in a week of wearing the B09, I feel it stuck to exceed that accuracy.
While done by machines, the finishing on the movement is very pleasant, with Geneva striping and polishing giving the industrial calibre a nice sense of flair and depth, and the 28 jewels offer a pop of colour alongside holding lubricating oil.
However, the real action is on the dial. In true bicompax form, the B09 offers a pair of complications: one comprising a 30-minute tracking subdial and a running seconds subdial, and the other offering a tachymeter scale on the watch’s rehaut, sitting a little above the dial.
The main dial sports 12-hour Arabic numerals in applied polished steel, which are encircled by a chapter ring with printed indexes and numerals for the minutes and even 15-second intervals. A simple sick-like hand with a rounded counterweight is used for the tachymeter, while syringe-style hands take care of the hours and minutes, with a small dose of Super-Luminova providing a little lume when there’s not much light around.
A box sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating on both sides, helps minimise glares on the dial, though it’s not as good at eating reflections as the my OMEGA Seamaster Aqua Terra.
Completing the look is a well-padded alligator leather strap with a rather glossy finish and a signed deployant clasp. Even though this B09 was a review unit, the strap didn’t feel like it had a lot of flex to it despite having been worn, which is in one way good for durability and supporting the watch, but occasionally made it a little fiddly to thread through the strap’s keepers. I also prefer a bit more softness in leather straps, and ones that have a more matte appearance.
What’s the Breitling Premier B09 like to wear?
There’s a lot to like with the Breitling Premier B09, from its premium feel and finishing, to the in-house movement and a host of subtle details. I like how the brushed surfaces are at a level that they almost glow in bright light, which along with the grooved edges help give a modern twist to a watch design taken from the 1940s.
I also really like how the B09 uses its polished elements, such as the lined facet that runs the length of the lugs and polished edges on the pushers, which give the watch a lot of visual interest without looking overly flashy.
While there are a lot of numerals on the dial, I appreciate how Breitling keeps text to a minimum, allowing the polished and applied numerals to pop that bit more.
Speaking of the dial, concentric circle patterns on the subdials offer a pleasing change in texture from the main dial. On the 30-minute subdial, there’s a trio of straight lines as three-minute intervals serving as a nod to Breitling’s aviation heritage as those durations are used to for timing various aircraft maneuvers.
In general, I think the Premier B09 is a rather handsome watch, but it has some shortcomings in my eyes. I go back and forth on how I feel about the way the subdials cut into the 2, 4, 8 and 10 numerals. While this style is common on dress watches with subdials, I feel it's a little fussy here and looks a tad old fashioned; ironically, some vintage Premier models eschew this approach. Other times, I found myself liking the dressy flair this design offers.
While I like the satin-like finish of the white dial, especially in the light cast by a setting sun, I felt it perhaps looked a little old fashioned, and I found myself wishing Breitling had gone for a purer matt-white finish. I imagine the pistachio-green color could be the panacea to this, but I’ve yet to see that model in the metal.
Speaking of old fashioned, the domed crystal definitely gives the B09 a nice vintage flair, but I found it can make the tachymeter scale hard to see at some angles. Now I don’t think I’ve ever properly used such a complication, yet I still like to see clearly.
None of these criticisms are particularly off-putting, but what gives me pause is how thick it feels on my wrist. A slither above 13mm is not really thick for a watch with a column wheel chronograph. But unlike my Speedmaster, which is a tad thicker than the B09, I find the watch’s proportions and crystal make it look a little bulbous. I don’t feel this would be as obvious if the B09 had more sporty undertones, or if its diameter stretched to 42mm.
I have a similar gripe with my Studio Underd0g 01Series, which shares a few design elements with the B09, but as its case comes in at 38.5mm its perceived bulk is less noticeable.
With the padded leather strap, I was left feeling that on my wrist the B09 was a little too bulky to work as a dress watch, yet didn't quite work as a day-to-day chronograph given some of its vintage and dressy elements.
Ultimately, that’s what stopped me ‘bonding’ with the Premier B09. It might sound ridiculous to seek a bond with an inanimate object, but when it comes to spending a large chunk of money on a luxury device I feel one has to have a form of connection with it; in the case of a watch that means the feeling of it just working on your wrist and not wanting to part with it.
Is the Breitling Premier B09 worth the money?
Speaking of price, the Premier B09 currently comes in at a chunky £7,400, which is a good jump up from its launch price of £6,300 four years ago; unfortunately, that’s just the effect of an upwards trend in luxury watch prices.
At this price, the B09 is one of the more expensive steel Breitling watches, and occupies a price bracket in which you can find watches from IWC, Omega, Grand Seiko, Zenith and Rolex. I’d argue that’s a tricky place to be, especially when an Omega Speedmaster Professional chronograph, with all its Moon-centric history and master chronometer-rated Co-Axial movement, can be had for £6,200.
However, when you take into account the level of finishing, the 70 hours of power from an in-house chronometer-spec movement – especially with a column wheel and vertical clutch chronograph – all housed in a 40mm package with impressive water resistance for a dressy design, you'd be hard pressed to find a watch with such features for under £10,000.
Given the Tudor Black Bay Chrono uses a calibre based on the Breitling B01, you could argue it’s a rival watch at a more easily swallowed £4,903. I’m a fan of Tudor watches – see my article on the Tudor Black Bay 58 925 – but I think the much sportier look of the Black Bay Chrono, and its lack of fine finishing, means it can't really be compared to the Premier B09 despite the relation in movements.
So in this context, I think the Premier B09 justifies its price; just be aware that it's not likely to hold its resale value in the same way as some other watches around the £7,000 range.
Assessing the appeal and value of luxury watches can be very subjective, and for the money I, as an Omega fan, would probably go for white-dial Speedmaster over the B09. However, for collectors that already have a Speedy or more sporty chronographs, the Premier B09 could be a breath of fresh air – albeit with with a retro whiff – offering a classy bicompax watch that better suits formal evenings or business-class lounges than excursions to the Moon.
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